High Off the Hog

Yesterday, since we have no walls at work (we don’t have cubes), we had a brief discussion about what is a fair use of scholarship money. I can almost see the argument from both sides. But let me hear/read what y’all think. David (not race specific name) is poor. Her gets a scholarship to play a sport. He gets a full ride to school. He gets to campus and after his first year, he finds out that he does’t have to live in the dorms. The summer before his sophomore year, he decides to move off campus. Remember, David is poor. Therefore, he just happens to quailify for low-income housing. And you know what? He uses it.

David moves into his new spot. But guess what? Since he didn’t use all of his scholarship money, he has some left over. He was given money for housing. But nowhere in his scholarship did it say he had to stay on campus. I don’t know if this is realistic because I always thought athlete had to stay on campus. But work with me on this. David withdraws the scholarship money left in his student account. He goes out and buys furniture and maybe even a car. He might even send some back home to his poor family.

Is this wrong?

I know I was undone with the stories of the Katrina victims using their loot for fancy bags and stuff. I thought they should be using it for necessities. But what happens when those necessities are met? Does David have the right to spend the money he’s earning (playing sports for a university is his job) in ways that fall outside of what most people think the funds were intended for? And in this case, he has a full ride. All expenses paid. Isn’t his rent an expense?? Does it matter that he’s living in low income housing and his rent is probably minimal?? It’s not like the university is going to take the unused money back. Also, in smaller cities, it’s often cheaper for kids to live off-campus–although my people were not tryna hear that.

What about Robert?? David’s teammate form high school. He enters the draft and skips college. There will be all sorts of people saying him being paid millions in salary and endoursements is wrong because a person that young shouldn’t have that much money. Really? Because he doesn’t know what to do with it. My gosh, what young person really knows what to do with their first real paycheck?? What if Robert graduated high school and got a job in a local factory. Would people complain then? Would his 30K a year in middle America be too much for someone his age to make when his older co-workers are also making near the same?? I understand there’s a big difference between squandering 300Mil and 30K. I do. But the arguments to justify why these young kids should be paid less for their hard work (on the field/court or in the factory) just isn’t solid.

Thoughts??